The present embodiments generally pertain to heat exchangers utilized with gas turbine engines. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to, but are not limited to, mounting brackets for surface heat exchangers.
In a gas turbine engine, air is pressurized in a compressor and mixed with fuel in a combustor for generating hot combustion gases which flow downstream through turbine stages. A typical gas turbine engine generally possesses a forward end and an aft end with its several core or propulsion components positioned axially therebetween. An air inlet or intake is located at a forward end of the engine. Moving toward the aft end, in order, the intake is followed by a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. It will be readily apparent by those skilled in the art that additional components may also be included in the engine, such as, for example, low-pressure and high-pressure compressors, and low-pressure and high-pressure turbines. This, however, is not an exhaustive list. In a typical turbo-prop gas turbine engine aircraft, turbine stages extract energy from the combustion gases to turn a turbo-propeller. In some embodiments, the propulsor may power one or more turbo-propellers (hereinafter, “turbo-prop”) in the case of some airplanes. In alternate embodiments, the propulsor may drive one or more turbo-propellers, embodied as rotors, for operation of a helicopter.
During operation, significant heat is generated by the combustion and energy extraction processes with gas turbine engines. It is necessary to manage heat generation within the engine so as to not raise engine temperatures to unacceptable levels, which may cause engine failure. One method of controlling heat and improving engine life is to lubricate engine components with cooling fluids and further cool the lubricating fluids. In such heat exchanger embodiments, the air stream is utilized to cool the hot fluid of the turbine engine.
Prior art mounting systems for surface coolers utilize heavier, complicated mounting systems which are more complex to manufacture. These mounting systems utilize multiple welds which sometimes may warp the metal of the surface cooler. It would be desirable to overcome these complicated mounting systems and provide an easily manufactured, easily installed and highly operable system which still allows for the thermal growth, for example, in the circumferential direction, of the cooler. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a system which overcomes the potential for high cycle fatigue which is possible with surface cooler structures.